Have you ever, surfing the Internet, found a post on social media, videos or an email that promised to solve all your problems? Like a miracle formula to get rich, or lose weight in a few days or a revolutionary new product?
Anyone who hasn’t stopped everything they were doing to click on a link and see an irresistible offer, only to later realize that the content didn’t live up to the promise of the title, cast the first stone.
Believe it, this is more common than it seems and everyone has been through this situation at least once.
At that moment, the feeling is that we were seduced by an absolutely irresistible lure. To that temptation we give the name of clickbait.
In today’s article, you will understand more about this common practice in the digital environment and why you should avoid it in your . Shall we start?
What is clickbait?
Does that name sound strange to you? Calm down, because you already saw several clickbaits out there. You may even have been a victim of some of them.
Clickbait – or click lure, translated into Spanish – is content that makes exaggerated and miraculous promises to lead users to a certain page on the web.
This type of content generally “fishes” the public’s attention with tempting and sensational titles and calls, such as “you will not believe it” or “you will never find out what happened”.
However, a clickbait does not keep its promises and lies to the user.
Clickbait works like fishing lures: it promises some secret or miracle solution to a problem, readers are seduced and don’t think twice before clicking on the content.
Many people, especially small businesses that want instant results, tend to use clickbait because it is an extremely fast way to generate online traffic. And with more traffic, there are more leads and more sales.
The problem is that since the promises of the title are rarely delivered, users feel cheated and abandon the brand.
Why clickbait works?
If clickbait is all about using sensational or misleading copywriting to attract clicks and traffic, why are people still being fooled? And why are there still companies and professionals who insist on this practice?
It’s pretty simple. Clickbait uses a series of resources that irresistibly attract the public’s attention.
It exploits feelings that we all have and that are irrational. Among these resources are:
- the fears that your clients may have;
- the desire to have some good or goal not yet achieved;
- a pain or difficulty consumers face;
- curiosity.
In addition, it is also very common for clickbait calls to abuse the . That draws the reader’s attention even more, making it practically impossible to resist and not click on the link.
In other words, even though it is a reprehensible practice, clickbait ends up increasing traffic. But, as you will understand later, it is not worth it.
Most common examples of clickbait on the Internet
Everyone has seen or fallen for a clickbait at some point. Therefore, it is not very difficult to recognize this type of content.
In general, clickbaits have some common characteristics, such as:
misleading information
Here we have the contents with information that is not true to deceive the user.
Fake news fits into this category, which present misleading titles and content, made to misinform, cause commotion and engagement in the public.
We may also highlight content with misinformation in the title for the sole reason of generating clicks. Most of the time, this information has no connection with the rest of the material, misleading those who access it.
repeated information
Another fairly common strategy of those who create clickbaits. A user is interested in the call, clicks and when accessing the content, he realizes that all the information does not go beyond copies of other materials.
They are repetitions of the same information from other sites and companies, often with the same title, but written differently.
Content like this, in addition to misleading the public, constitutes plagiarism, something that violates the and may result in penalties.
incomplete information
Another strategy widely used by those who are after clicks and money with is to publish summarized or incomplete information about content found on other websites or channels.
This attitude also shows the company’s lack of commitment to the information itself and also to the public.
exaggerated information
Many pages and online businesses fill their calls with words like “the best” or “the largest”, “the most recommended”, etc., to give the impression of more authority and generate traffic.
But, instead of offering really proven information, they use those adjectives just to arouse the curiosity of the audience. The user clicks on the link hoping to find the best solution, with data that guarantees its effectiveness, but in the end, they are deceived.
Why you shouldn’t use clickbait
After understanding how clickbaits work in practice (and also from your own experiences with that type of content), you should already know that they are not worth using.
However, to put an end to any doubts you may still have, we are going to show you what can happen if you decide to use clickbait to attract more traffic.
You will be lying to your audience
The pillar of is to deliver relevant content to the public, something that helps them solve the problems they face every day. This strengthens people’s relationships with the brand, creating authority and facilitating sales.
But you will not be able to do it if your strategy is based on lies or incorrect information. You will be promising solutions that, after all, you will not be delivering.
In addition to being unethical to defraud people, you can put your brand’s reputation at risk. Imagine being recognized in the market as a lying business that does not comply and does not deliver what it promises. Lousy, don’t you think?
Results may disappoint you over time
In the beginning, it may be that your blog or conquer tens, hundreds or thousands of new accesses. All thanks to the use of clickbait.
That’s very good, right? Well… it’s not that bad.
The contents may even be popular at the beginning, but as the audience realizes that you are using clickbaits, the accesses will drop, the reputation of your page will be damaged and you may even be punished by the search mechanisms.
In the end, it is worth nothing to have access if none of the visitors becomes a lead or customer.
You can lose potential customers
In any digital strategy, to be successful, it is necessary to take into account the from the moment you first see the brand to the conclusion of the purchase.
So if people who visit your blog, website, or YouTube channel come across clickbait and feel cheated, they’re likely to associate your business with a negative experience.
And when that happens, you risk missing out on valuable business opportunities. Worse than that, you put your own company at risk.
Give up clickbait!
As we have seen, the practice of clickbait is quite detrimental to the marketing strategy of your business. By lying to the public and not delivering what you promise, you run the risk of tarnishing your brand image and losing potential customers.
Therefore, it is very important to provide the best possible experience. Try to review your content to be sure that all promises are kept and that those who access your content will not be disappointed.
Although it is tempting to use clickbait to attract the attention of Internet users and get more clicks and traffic, there are other techniques that are much more efficient. And the best: honest. One of them is copywriting.
Do you want to learn to write texts that sell more? then read our .
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